DeepCubeA - a deep learning algorithm, designed by researchers and mathematicians at the University of California Irvine (UCI) can solve Rubik’s Cubes in a fraction of a second without any specific domain knowledge or in-game coaching from humans.

Source: UCI

In a study reported in Nature Machine Intelligence, the researchers demonstrated that the deep reinforcement learning algorithm DeepCubeA solved 100 percent of all test configurations. It finds the shortest route to the goal state about 60 % of the time and completes the task in around 20 moves, while it takes around 50 moves by humans.

Senior author Pierre Baldi, at UCI, said "Artificial intelligence can defeat the world’s best human chess and Go players, but some of the more difficult puzzles, such as the Rubik’s Cube, had not been solved by computers, so we thought they were open for AI approaches,"

"The solution to the Rubik’s Cube involves more symbolic, mathematical and abstract thinking, so a deep learning machine that can crack such a puzzle is getting closer to becoming a system that can think, reason, plan and make decisions," he added